1  Clans Entwined: First Hatched
by SilverZelenia
Summary: Clans Entwined: First Hatched is the first installment of the Entwined series. This installment tells the tale of two young girls beginning to walk the path of the life they have chosen - the hard life of a dragon tender.
1. Prologue

**Dragon Cave () is copyright to T.J. Lipscomb, the dragon breeds and art are copyright TJ and their respective artists, these individual dragons, characters and the storylines belong to Zephyr_Drake and LightningRip.** **Probably rated higher than nessesary because there may be fighting, there will be a zombifacation (eventualy) and mating flights.**

Walking across the shell-littered cave floor, a girl paused and sat down on a rock that had been her perch for the last several weeks. Staring at the rain outside, she felt as though the weather matched her mood very well. She again looked at the egg shells on the ground. Not one of the 8 eggs she had tried to hatch in the last two clutches had survived. And just today, another 3 eggs had burst open after death, scattering their egg shards on the floor. She eyed the last egg in the makeshift nest. It was a light creamy green and only about the size of a large ostrich or emu egg, possibly a little bit bigger, and smelled of fresh mint. Out of the four eggs in this last clutch, it was the last survivor. Hugging her jumper closer, the girl got up and sat down on the pile of straw and rags she had been using as a bed beside the nest, clearing off a few stray egg shards. She sat for quite some time, just staring at the last egg, before slowly closing her eyes and falling asleep.

The girl woke to the sound of an eggshell cracking. Without opening her eyes, she groaned, believing that her last egg had died. Until she heard a shrilled chirp. She opened her eyes, and saw a small green head poking out of a large hole in the shell. She stared wide eyed at the little dear, before it pulled its head back upon seeing her. The girl tried to make comforting noises, but the hatchling was too scared to leave its shell. She reached for her bag to see what little food she had left. One apple and half a salad sandwich, it would have to do. She placed the sandwich outside the egg and little mint hatchling poked its head outside again. It was so hungry, but didn't want to leave its shell... The girl giggled softly as the hatchling tried to reach out to the sandwich without leaving the shell, and then toppled over as a result. The now-fragile shell cracked and fell apart, revealing the little mint happily munching away at the sandwich. The girl moved so she was in front of the hatchling, who squealed in surprise and tried to run, but found no way out of the nest."There there little one..." The girl spoke softly before biting off a chunk of apple. The little hatchling cautiously took the chunk and ate it, then still hungry, cried for more. "Ok, ok, I'll give you more!" The girl quickly bit off more chunks and fed them to the little mint. Once it was full, the hatchling curled up as the girl stroked it. She smiled "I am glad you have finally hatched, my name is Zephyr, and I will be your tender..."


	2. Dragon Tender's Manual

There was once a time of when dragons were just a myth, and people spent their whole lives in a single dimension. Cut off from the rest of the universe in their own dimension for thousands of years, men forgot the times when dragons roamed freely, and the men who once tended these great beasts, cut of from their magical abilities, aged and died. But men never truly forgot, and the fear and awe that men once showed for dragons still lived on. Men lived like this for thousands of years, until one man rediscovered the other dimensions, and once again man walked beside dragons. In the year 2015, a man named TJ rediscovered the portal that lead from this world into the huge cavern-filled world know as the dragon caves. Upon his discovery, the government was quick to try and cover it up and use this new dimension and its giant inhabitants for themselves. But this discovery lead to total social upheaval, lead by TJ himself, that allowed man to come and go between Terra and DC. Soon other portals were found, which lead to lands perfect for dragon clans to live in. Men (and women) soon began to raise dragons for themselves, taking to the cave systems in the new dimensions. These people, who became known as tenders, lived as long as their dragons, and soon became the thing that every child wanted to be. Some, such as TJ, obtained a god-like status, and a whole new culture formed around the dragons and their tenders. Wherever a dragon clan formed, a village would form in a nearby valley. As it turned out, dragon-dung was super fertile, and resulted in massive crop yields, and shed scales of some breeds sold for a small fotune. As the dragon tenders colonized new dimensions, they discovered more dragon breeds. Some clans grew so big that they required a whole dimension to sustain itself, and thousands of villages and cites could be within their territories. The very first caverns used by clans became too small, and were made vacant, and it became tradition to allow new tenders to hatch their first eggs in such territories, where already established villages and cites could support them with food while their dragons were to young to hunt. But not all was well in this world. Beast and monsters lurked in some worlds, to be released when clans entered them, and caused havoc in other dimensions. Some, such as the AP monsters, were helpful most of the time, cleaning up dead eggs within DC itself, but some strains mutated, causing chaos when they began killing live eggs and preventing tenders from getting new eggs. Another loathed beast is the Lag Monster. These have always been around, but most are small and weak, and easy to defend against. But one dimension held a swarm of super Lag Monsters, and one St. Patrick's day, they were released on DC, causing tenders to be unable to communicate with their distressed dragons. A mutant strain of these resulted in the dreaded Data Monster, a giant beast that went between clans, killing dragon after dragon. The great TJ defeated the Data Monster, and was able use his greater magical abilities to revive many of the dead dragons. There are many trials and tests when you become a Tender. The first is to get your eggs to hatch. It may take many weeks and dead eggs until you finally hatch your first dragon, and even then you may give up after the mental strain of the loss of so many baby dragons. Nobody will help you, otherwise there would be too many weak tenders out there and not enough territories...

* * *

><p>Hannah closed her book, rubbing her head. She could no longer tell if they were trying to encourage or discourage people from becoming tenders. She had applied to become a tender just the day before, and been told to read this book before even finishing the application. She was terran born, so had little experience with dragons, and whenever a spot came up in the Tender Academy, there were millions of applicants. But oh how she wanted to be a tender! Her best friend Layne had told her she also wanted to apply, and the oldest students in the academy were about to leave to try their luck with their first eggs. She sighed, and put her book down beside her on the bedside table, turned off the lamp and rolled over, seeking the sleep that so annoyingly evaded her.<p> 


	3. Mailbox

Every teenager in the high school looked like they hadn't slept in weeks. As she walked through the corridors, Hannah noted that most teens around her own age had bags under their eyes, yet it was nowhere near exam time. She most probably also had these dark marks under her eyes, marking her as one of the many in this school alone that had applied to the Dragon Tender academy and had been up at all hours studying. Everyone knew that the students only stayed there for a year but those who had gone last year were about to leave for DC, to find their first eggs and become dragon tenders... the Academy was now sifting through their applications, choosing those that it felt would have the best survival rate in the other realms and who was strong enough to raise the dragons and manage a clan, even with scant little to use. These were probably some that had applied just to say they had, and there were people who did get chosen when they were not suitable, and then became tenders, but came home broken after months of hard fruitless work and the deaths of many dragonettes and eggs. There was one girl, who had apparently been the "Queen Bee" of her grade, that was now a semi-lifeless shell, who wandered the halls, crying for her lone dragon who was slain by a Lag Monster. As she walked down the stairs, Hannah spotted Layne running towards her from the other end of the corridor, only having light bags under her eyes. That girl could survive on an hours sleep a night if she needed to."Wow, you look like you've slept less than I have, and THAT'S saying something!" Hannah grumbled at her friend's comment. "Well, I'M not used to staying up all night reading about something that I may never experience." She looked up as the bell rang. "C'mon, or we'll be late for class." Both girls walked with the crowd towards their home room. As they walked into class and sat down, Hannah noted that only 4 or 5 of the others looked as if they had slept for more than three hours over the last few nights. There were already some who were falling asleep in their seats..."Ok kids, I'm here, good morning... or not..." The teacher walked in and sighed. Clearly she saw this happen every year. "I can see that many of you have applied to the academy, you can tell just by looking at you." All the students that had not had sleep groaned, while the few that had were stifling giggles."Well, today you will be finding out who has been chosen to be interviewed for the spots in the school." The teacher smiled as every one of the tired faces lit up."Miss Jones, how do you know?" Hannah chirped up. "Yes Miss, how?" Murmurs went through the class, everyone trying to guess."The principal received a letter last week saying that there were students here that had been selected to be interviewed, and today he has given all the teachers of these children the names." She pulled out a piece of paper, and again, gasps and murmurs overtook the room."Shush please." Miss Jones eyed the noisy boys at the back of the class "Just because you get interviewed, doesn't mean you will get in. There are only 200 spots at the academy, and millions of applicants from all the different dimensions. There are, on average, 99 disappointed interviewees for every ONE that gets a spot."Miss Jones shifted her feet. "Our school always has many students who get interviewed, and many of those go to the academy. While most who go come back broken or disheartened, we have many former students who have become well known Tenders with large clans. Today, the following people will have the chance to join them." She cleared her throat."Emma, Verdent, Mitch, Hannah, Alex, Hugo and Layne" The room erupted into cheers, the successful few being thumped on the back and hugged, the unsuccessful brushing off comforting and hiding disappointment. "Now, you 7 will be required to go to normal classes till 3rd period, when the academy representatives will be interviewing you." She smiled "You then won't hear from them until the last class actually leaves in a month's time. Now, go to your 1st Period class you lot." Everyone left the room, already gossiping about how the 7 got chosen and why, and who would most likely get in.

It was a month since Hannah had been interviewed. As she set about making breakfast for her younger siblings, she looked back on it. The representative had come with a small green dragon he had called a frozen Frill. She guessed the reason was to judge how she reacted to seeing her first dragon. After half an hour of seemingly unrelated questions, they had let her go and called in the next of the 40 students from the school who had been singled out for interviewing. She looked out the window just in time to see the postman at the mailbox. She knew that the latest students were almost about to leave, they reported it on TV every few months. She quickly finished the last of the toast and placed it on the table for her brothers to dive into, and ran towards the door. As she ran in the cold morning mist, she cursed that she had not worn a jacket as she ran up to the mailbox. Surely enough, in the box was a letter addressed to her with a dragon seal on it...


	4. Packing Time

Layne dashed up Hannah's sidewalk. She opened the door and rushed inside without waiting to knock. "Hannah!" She called, almost running into her friend. Both had letters with dragon seals on them in their hands. "Open them together?" Layne asked. Hannah nodded and both girls excitedly tore open the envelopes."Layne Herring, I am happy to announce that you have been chosen to come to the Tender Academy. In a week or so, an escort will arrive to take you to the academy. Bring clothes and whatever sentimental things you'd like to bring. It is advised to bring pictures and gifts from your family and friends, as you may never see them again. Please keep in mind, all that you bring you must be able to carry. Since you live so close, you will be picked up at Hannah Collins' house. Please be ready to go at 6am sharp. 'The Headmaster,'" Layne read out loud. "We made it! Both of us!" She clutched the letter tightly to her. "I'd better go home and pack…" She said after a minute. "See you at school tomorrow?" She asked, folding the letter back into the envelope to take home. "Yeah, I can't wait to see their faces when they find out!" Hannah smiled.

* * *

><p>Layne dashed up the steps and burst into her house. Her mother looked up in surprise. "What's gotten into you?" She resumed chopping a carrot after peering into a pot of boiling water. Layne held up the letter and smiled. "I got into the academy!" She exclaimed, and her mother gasped and hugged her. "When do they pick you up?" She asked her daughter, looking at her. "Next Sunday." Layne responded. Her mother reached over and dropped the carrots into the sizzling stew. "Well, I need to go to town, take that off the stove in an hour. Keep it covered and put it in the fridge if I'm not back by then." She covered it and set the timer. Layne sat down on one of the five stools lining the counter as her mother reappeared minus her apron. "Angel!" Her mother called upstairs. Layne watched her little sister come pounding down. She was only one year younger, but she was a baby to Layne. "Yeah?" Angel asked. "We're going to town." Their mother said, and Angel's face brightened immediately.<p>

* * *

><p>Running back into her house, Hannah squealed with delight. As she ran past her mother, she began running with a sort of victory dance somehow worked into the pace."Why are you so happy?" Hannah waved the letter above her head "I got in! So did Layne!" Her mother shook her head "Well I never.. I always knew you two were attatched at the hip, but how did you manage this?" Hannah smiled cheekily as she walked into her room to start packing. It was Thursday, a public holiday too, so there was one day left of school. As she grabbed a suitcase from under the bed, Hannah began shoving clothes into it. She had heard that you were given new clothes before you became a tender, but only a few shirts and pants, and they wouldnt give you any good clothes. So going through her cupboard, she tried to think of what she would need over the next year and chose a few light plain and tie died shirts, a few pairs of summer pants and skirts, and two summer dresses. She knew it wouldnt always be warm where they would be going, she she dug into her wardrobe to find her winter clothing too. She eventualy found them, and pulled out a few long-sleeved shirts, a couple of Jumpers, three pairs of jeans, and a good sturdy belt. Chucking in the last few things; a few good shirts, shoes, a hat, under garments, PJ's and a large sturdy coat, Hannah struggled to close her bag."You probably could have packed that better." Hannah looked over her shoulder to see her step-brother standing in the door. "Go away twerp, Im busy." The 10 year old boy shrugged and walked off, probably going back to his computer games.<p>

* * *

><p>Layne stuffed the big pot into the fridge and dashed upstairs into her room. Hers was the only room on the 3rd floor, her elder brother's old room and her little sister's room below on the 2nd. She quickly stuffed her clothes into a big suitcase and everything else into several bags. She sat on her bed and looked around her now bare room. Faintly she heard the rest of her family come home from town and pounded down the stairs. Angel rushed past her and up to her room, clutching a little bag as if it her life depended on it. Her mother came through the door with several bags, followed by her father who had groceries weighing him down. "Start the stew to heat and then go get the last of the groceries, Layne." Her mother called over her shoulder as she disappeared into the back of the house. Layne shook her head and put the stew back on the stove. As she finished putting the groceries away, the aroma of vegetable stew was almost overpowering. She spooned out four bowls of soup and set drinks on the table just as Angel came downstairs and her parents reappeared. "Thank you, Layne." Her father said as they all sat around the large round kitchen table. Only one chair was unoccupied; her older brother Zayne's. Her father said a prayer and then they all started eating. Layne could detect some Neo and Canopy scale seasoning in the soup. Her mother used it rarely as it was expensive, so Layne was a little surprised, but she enjoyed the flavoring.<p>

* * *

><p>Sitting at the dinner table, Hannah cheerfully talked with her siblings and parents over a meal of fish and salad, enjoying the hectic conversations of 9 people at one table. She would probably share with more people at the Academy, but for now she was happy to be annoyed by her little sister and five brothers.<p> 


	5. The First Day of the Rest of Our Lives

Layne yawned and stretched. She rolled over and looked out the window. Today was Sunday. Today was the beginning of the rest of her life. She yawned again and hopped out of bed, shuffling over to her dresser and pulling out a plain black tank top with a yellow dragon on it and a denim skirt with Sunsong scales sewn on it out. Her mother had given her the skirt for her 14th birthday, last year, and Layne loved it. She knew the scales were expensive, and it meant a lot to her. She walked briskly down the hall and into the bathroom.

After showering and burshing her hair, she tossed her toothbrush and stuff in a bag, peering downstairs to see her mother making breakfast. Wavy dirty blond hair cascaded around her face as she leaped down the stairs two at a time. She reached up and tucked a long piece behind her ear as she sat on one of the stools. "Morning, sleepy." Her mother looked up from the sizzling frying pan. Layne looked down at her watch. 5am on the dot, which meant she had woken up at 4:30. Right on time. Layne looked up as Angel jumped off the landing of the stairs and jumped up onto the stool beside her. "Morning sis'."

She smiled at Layne and pointed a Polaroid camera at her sister. CLICK! CLICK! CLICK! Three little pictures popped out of Layne sitting on the stool. Angel shook them a little and put them in her bag. Layne shook her head. "I'm not even gonna ask." She said as her mother set two plate of fried eggs, pancakes, potatoes and toast in front of the girls. "Thanks, mom." Layne said.

* * *

><p>Hannah hummed happily as she dried her hair. It was Sunday! In only a few hours, she would be leaving, going to start her new life! And with none other than her best friend! As she finished her hair, she shoved her hair brush back into the toiletry bag, double checking she had everything as she did. She turned her head as someone started banging on the bathroom door. She open it to reveal her sister, red faced and looking very cranky. "WHY do you have to take so long?" Hannah grabbed her things and sidestepped out of the room to allow her sister in. "I don't know Tiffy, maybe because today is the last day I'll be here for, hopefully, a long time?" Tiffany huffed and slammed the door. <em>Preteens<em>, Hannah thought, and began trotting downstairs.

As soon as she got downstairs, Hannah was ambushed by her teary eyed mother. "Oh my baby!" Hannah tried to squirm out of the hug. "Mum!" As the middle child, this was not a normal occurrance, to be the center of attention. As she struggled to free herself, she noticed that her two older brothers who had moved out, and the eldest's family, had come to bid her farewell."Aunty Hannah!" As she finally freed herself, Hannah was again hit with hugs, but this time from her two year old niece, Annabelle. "Hey A-Bell!" Hannah scooped the little red head up. "You can tell Nanna that Aunty Hannah will be all right, cant you?"

The little girl looked up with big blue eyes and nodded her head. "Aunty Hannah will have fun playing with Dragons, just like Tweepee!" Hannah smiled as she noted the little girl was referring to her toy Red dragon. Hannah sat down at the table to converse with her family as she ate breakfast, and began wondering how she would live without all this craziness in her life.

Every head in the room turned as there was a knock at the door. Hannah lifted Annabelle off her knee and stood up with a brave face, and walked towards the door. She breathed in deep as she grasped the door knob, and turned. "GOOD MORNING SLEEPY HEAD!" Hannah fell over in shock as Layne jumped inside the door. "LAYNE!" Hannah scowled at her friend, who had somehow jumped inside while carrying WAYYY to much stuff. Both girls cracked up with laugh-induced tears, and Hannah lifted up her arm. "Help me up you ditz!" Layne reached out and pulled Hannah up, both still laughing, and shut the door behind her. "I knew I'd get you!" She put her bags down at the door next to Hannah's. "Yeah? Well next time I'll get you!"

As both girls cracked up laughing again, there was a sudden thud at the door, and they suddenly clasped hands, terrified as to who was on the other side of the door. They looked at each other.

"Do you want to open it?"

"No, do you?"

"No, both together?"

Both girls nodded, and placed a hand on the doorknob, turned it and pulled. On the other side was a man in a bus driver's uniform, and in the street outside the house was a large white bus with a red symbol on the side. The man looked up from his clip board. "Hannah Collins and Layne Herring?" The girls nodded. "Well, get your stuff down to the bus, we leave in 10 minutes". He began to walk back to the bus.

Hannah and Layne looked at each other and squealed. They ran back to their bags, and saw that Hannah's Mum was on the phone, probably to Layne's Mum, and the rest of the gang was getting up to see them off. The girls grabbed their bags and began hauling them to the side walk, where the driver began to put them into the bus's cargo hold. Layne's Mum ran down and began showering Layne in hugs, and Hannah's Mum was doing the same thing."I have some money for you Hannah." Hannah looked up at her Mum. They didn't have much, so this really did mean something. "I have 200 Marks for you..." Hannah gasped. That was a weeks wage from her mothers home business, and worth plenty anywhere, as the inter-dimensional currency. "Mum... I..." Her mum shushed her and put a small red pouch in her hand. "Take good care of it, and don't spend it all at once" Hannah did not resist the last hug before the driver began shouting to get on the bus.

Layne and Hannah walked onto the bus and both took window seats, one in front of the other, and waved out the window as the bus began to roll off. Hannah poked her head over the seat to Layne "My Mum gave me 200 Marks!" Layne's jaw dropped "So did mine!" Both girls chatted until chatting became boring, then looked out the window at the countryside, before falling asleep.


	6. Welcome to Astraea!

Layne woke with a start. Stupid dreams, she thought as she shook her head. She reached down and flipped open the photo album her brother had given her. It was a beautiful dark red leather, and matched the journal her parents had given her.

Both had a large dragon stamped into the leather on the covers. Layne couldn't quite tell what breed of dragon they were, but she was sure that one day she'd find out."Take lots of pictures, who knows, maybe you can send letters or we can visit." Her sister had said as she handed her the camera she had been running around with like mad. Layne had smiled and hugged her sister.

Then her parents had told her to write to them if she could, and that her brother had dropped off the album while he was in town the day before, but he had a class at the university he couldn't miss. Then she'd hugged them all and dashed as quick as she could with all her stuff over to Hannah's house. And typical Layne, of course she had had a million things to carry, but she was to hyper to notice how heavy it was.

Layne opened the photo album and flipped through all the pictures. Her parents had said the journal and the album were a set, and enchanted to never run out of room, but always weighed the same and looked the same on the outside. Layne smiled as she looked at a picture of herself jumping up and trying to grab her shoe from her brother when they were younger. She remembered that day. She had planned to go hiking in the forest, but her brother had had different ideas that involved her chasing him around the house all afternoon. That was last year, before he went to the university in the larger city a few hours away.

She sighed and stuffed the album back into her backpack and set it back up on the rack above looked around and for the first time realized the bus was full of sleeping teenagers bound for the Academy. She was the only one awake though, even Hannah was still snoring quietly. Layne quietly slipped around the corner of her seat and sat next to Hannah.

Technically, she was supposed to be in her seat. But then again, technically, each seat was made for two people. "Hannah?" She whispered quietly. No response. Her friend was still asleep. Layne looked ahead and jumped out of her seat, landing on Hannah. "Oww!" Hannah was instantly awake. "I'm not a couch you know, Layne." Hannah said. Layne laughed and said, "Well, sorry, you were so still I thought you'd become part of the seat!"Hannah looked ahead and gasped, reminding Layne why she'd jumped in the first place.

Layne tilted her head just enough to hear a few sleepy teenagers muttering. "I wish those idiots over there would SHUT UP." Some guy whispered to another as he rubbed sleep out of his eyes. Layne was about to go tell HIM to shut up when Hannah said her name. "Look, Layne, it's a castle!"Layne turned back to her friend and looked where she was pointing. Indeed there was the faint outline of a castle in the distance, and Layne could see lights illuminating windows. The castle was dead ahead, and the bus pulled to a stop. "Alright, time to wake up!" The grumpy driver said as he got up and started down the aisle. Layne quickly slid around into her seat before he got to the back. He eyed her as if he knew she had broken the rules. Layne made a mental note to watch her step around this guy. She'd have to pull her pranks when he wasn't around.

Hannah's eyes moved from the castle on top of the hill to the town below it. It was bustling, even at this hour. She could swear she even saw things flying between rooftops, but in the dawn light it was too hard to tell if her eyes were playing tricks on her or not. She knew that the town below the Academy, Astraea, had been founded originally as a military base, to prevent people from abusing the portal to DC. Once the Academy was opened, it became it's resource center for the students, importing food and other resources from both Terran sources and otherworld sources.

The dimension called Touros for instance, grew the largest, finest cattle anywhere, and the beef it produced supplied to not only its own dimension's population, but also to that of many Terran cities. Terra itself produced very little for itself nowadays. There were still a few places where people grew crops and raised livestock, and a few towns where there were still wild places, but most resources came from DC now, and most people went on holidays to various dimensions that you could reach from DC.

As the bus driver finished his head count, he walked back to the front of the bus and started yelling orders."Now, you lot are going to be staying up in the Academy with the other students soon enough, but tonight you'll stay in the Inns in town. Tomorrow is the graduation ceremony for the 4th Term students, and after tomorrow you will be moving into their old rooms." He paused.

"There are five Inns in town, but due to the graduation, there are quite a few others staying here. Therefore, your gonna need to bunk up." He pulled a list from the bottom of the papers on his clipboard. "The Sleeping Dragon Inn has two rooms with 5 beds available, the Astral Inn has one room with 3 beds, the Moonlight Inn has three rooms with 6 beds, the Ravaged Frill Inn has one room with 5 beds, and the Hidden Magic Inn is full, unless you want to bunk up with a smelly old man who came to see his grandson off."

Hannah looked around the bus. A few people had started whispering, trying to decide who they wanted to bunk with. The bus driver chimed in again. "And no boys in girls rooms, or vice versa". With exactly 10 girls and 10 boys, that might be hard. Layne reached over and grabbed her hand, pulling it into the air with her own."We'll take the room at the Astral Inn!"

The bus driver nodded and wrote on his clipboard. A blond haired boy a few seats up, and the red headed boy behind him put their hands up.

"We'll take a room in the Sleeping Dragon Inn."

"So will we!" A tiny, pale girl shoved her hand up, as did the black-haired-and-clothed girl behind her. "I'll take the room in the Ravaged Frill!" The girl with Platinum blond hair stood up, clearly determined to get the room.

"I'll bunk with her!"

"So will I!"

A girl who had clearly had a hair-pigment implant put her hand up, as did the tanned girl at the front of the bus. This went on till all the teenagers had rooms. A tall brunette had bunked with Layne and Hannah.

As they dragged their luggage towards the Inn, Layne and Hannah introduced themselves to their new, though temporary, roommate. "My name is Roxanne." The girl smiled, almost wincing as she dragged what looked like a ton of baggage. She had just as much as Layne did with her. "Im from London, I've been traveling for days to get here. The bus picked me up at the airport, when I got on everyone was still asleep."

Eventually the girls got to the Inn. The front door was covered in stars, and two statues of some type of Wyvren stood guard by the door, another one was perched on the roof. As they reached to ring the doorbell, they heard a screeching sound from inside, then some banging around, before a flustered woman opened the door, with a little black and blue animal at her feet.

"Im terribly sorry, Farpar isn't normally like this, its all the commotion that's upsetting him." The young woman reached down and picked up the animal, Hannah could see it was a Wyvren hatchling now, and began stroking it, clearly trying to sooth it. "My name is Delilah, Im the owner of the Astral Inn, and this is Farpar, our Nebula Wyvren hatchling."

Hannah and Layne looked at each other. A Nebula! It was so pretty! "I'm guessing you're the new students, come in, I'll show you to your room."The girls followed Delilah up the stairs and down the hall to their room. "I hope you find it comfortable, dinner will be on the table at six, and the cook will make you a sandwich at lunch time if you are hungry, but we have already served breakfast, sorry. There's a baker in town that you could grab a roll from, they don't charge new students on their first day."

Delilah handed them the key to their room and opened the heavy door. They was slightly stunned to see the star-themed decorations in the room. They clearly took their name seriously! Putting her bags at the end of one bed, Hannah sat down to rest and gather her thoughts. They had only been away from home one day, yet so much was already happening! She laid down and listened to the bustling in the street, the call of dragons and the sounds of preparation for the coming celebration.

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><p>Layne half dragged, half shoved her stuff into their room and plopped down on the bed across from Hannah's. Roxanne also dragged her stuff in and collapsed onto her bed, exhausted. Layne quickly squeezed her stuff under her bed and slung her backpack over her shoulder. It had her money and the gifts from her family in it, but was still rather empty.<p>

"I'm gonna go get some of those rolls Delilah mentioned for us." After the others nodded, she made her way out of the Inn and found herself on the Main Street. Just across the street was a place called 'Sugar and Scales' - a bakery. Might be the one Delilah had talked about. Layne dashed across the road and stepped inside the little shop, greeted by the ringing of a bell and a woman looking up from behind the counter.

She had dark brunette hair pulled in a bun, with flour on her hands, and was wearing a flour-covered apron."May I help you?" She asked as she wiped her hands off and stepped up to the counter. "Umm.. The owner of the Astral Inn mentioned a bakery that offered free rolls on academy students' first day..?" Layne said after a moment of looking at all the pastries and sweets they offered. "Yes, thats us."

The woman responded. Layne smiled and asked for three before resuming looking at the other things. Layne looked up as the woman set a small box on the counter.

"There's three cinnamon rolls in there as well. On the house." She smiled.

"Thanks, but are you sure? You might get in trouble?" Layne said.

"Positive, I own this place."

Layne smiled again, said thanks, and ran back over to the Inn. She stepped inside their room and set the little box on the foot of Hannah's bed. "Wake up again, sleepy people, I have food!" She called, and sat down on her own bed as she bit into a cinnamon roll.


	7. Oak Doors and Copper Keys

Hannah looked around her new room. It was cold, slightly damp, and the window was too high and too small. The bed was old and looked hardly stable, and the large wooden desk in the corner had seen better days. She had even found a bat in her sighed as she dumped her bags beside the bed. After two hours of looking for the room, she was most unimpressed.

They had given each student a key, and told them to go find the door that it opened, that was their room. After getting lost, found, then lost again, before finally finding the heavy oak door her key fit into. Sitting down on the bed, she began to wonder if she was the only one that had this much trouble with such a simple task...

* * *

><p>Layne flopped down on her bed. She had found her room pretty quickly, because she hadn't even looked till Hannah found her's, and it turned out to be right across from Hannah's. Stretching her arms, she got up and started putting her stuff away. The room was old, with worn furniture, but Layne kind of liked it. Plain, simple. Standing on her tiptoes, she peered out the window. She could see Drageers pulling carts several stories down below. Layne smiled. They had watched the old students graduate and go off to the world of dragons through the portal earlier that day.<p>

"I can't wait for my first class!" She said out load as she put her clothes up in the wardrobe. Stopping to eat an apple she had had in her backpack, she quickly finished unpacking and put her leftover snacks in a little cabinet, her journal and photo album on the desk, and hanging her backpack on a nail above the bed. "Guess I'm done then..." She said, smiling again and going to put a picture she had taken of a Drageer in the album. She only knew what it was because she had read about them before.

* * *

><p>After a very full first day, Hannah and Layne found themselves being sheperded into the main hall with the other new students. They were all too tired to pay attention to the speeches, the apointment of new prefects, exetera, exetera. They soon found plates of food in front of them, filled with bread and veggies, with optional meat on large trays at every table. After dinner, they barely noticed that they had been given their timetables, written on scrolls of all things, and wandered back to their rooms. Unfortunately, they took longer than expected to get to bed, with most of the new students getting lost. As each eventualy laid down to sleep, they began to dream of the portals, the dimensions, the good futures, and the unique life they were destined to live. All under the watchful eye of a Daydream dragon atop the castle bell tower, none had a single nightmare that night.<p> 


	8. Flashback

Walking through the brisk Autumn air, Hannah and Layne happily chatted as they carried boxes of decorations towards the portal, leaves crunching underfoot. "Can you believe it Layne? 3 months already! Tomorrow we won't be the youngest students!" Hannah smiled as Layne giggled. "And we don't have to put up with some of those annoying seniors any more!"

Arriving at the newly set up stage, they put the boxes down, only to be swamped by a flock of small yellow dragons."I still can't belive this is happening," Layne pulled off one of the more clingy little dragons. "Three months ago, we would have expected to see perhaps 4, 5 small dragons in our lifetimes, if we were lucky, but look at this!" Hannah nodded in agreement as she untangled a wing from her hair

"Its a supprise we never saw any of these Pygmies back at home, judging by how common they are here. I found ANOTHER nest of their eggs in my drawers yesterday! Thats at LEAST 5 clutches in the last 3 months I've found there!"As they walked back towards the castle, the flock of little yellow and orange pygmies in tow, they couldnt help feel like they were finaly at home.

* * *

><p>Hannah was called away from Layne when they got back to the castle. While Layne continued to bring decorations to the stage, Hannah was asked to help pack the wagons for the graduates trip. There were 4 large wagons, each pulled by a team of 4 Drageers, which grumbled as they were put into their fancy tack.<p>

This would, of course, be taken off on the other side of the portal, to be replaced with more durable and comfy tack, and the students had all been drilled on how to tack up a Drageer, and had spent many hours over the last three weeks making sure the tack was in top notch condition for the trip.

As she packed boxes of food, equipment and Drageer feed into the cart with other students, Hannah looked back on their first lessons. Layne had been yelled at so many times for trying to tack the Drageer as you would a horse."Its not a dumb horse you silly girl, its a noble, intelligient beast with a bad sense of humor, that loves to toss silly girls into the mud if they tack them up wrong!" Thats what the teacher, Mr Yasi has told them... and after returning to their rooms that afternoon soaked in mud, none of the students ever made the girths or breastplates too tight again!

* * *

><p>Layne smiled as she scraped her knife quickly butcarefully down the piece of wood. It was a Drageer she was carving to send back to her sister. About an hour later, she set the finished carving down on her desk. She'd been working on it for a couple days now, but she need to get some paint and paint it. It'd look a lot better then. With another slight smile, Layne walked over and pulled open her desk drawer to ge ther camera. With a slight jolt, she realized there was a tiny little orange egg leaning against it. "And the pygmies are at it again!" She said, laughing. But she noticed there hadn't been and there wasn't a pygmy anywhere in sight. Frowning, she hesitantly picked up the little egg and was shocked to find it ice cold. Biting her lip, she helf the egg in the crook of her elbow and ripped a few socks wih holes in them open. Still holding the egg, she set the stuff in the drawer on her desk and lined it with cloth, setting the little egg back down inside where it was warmer. It was autumn, so it must've still been cold inside the drawer before she put the socks in it. "I'll check on you later."Layne slipped on her flip flops and walked across the hall to knock on Hannah's door. It was almost time for dinner, and then she wanted to show her the egg and they were supposed to be studying together tonight.<p>

Hannah walked back to the rooms to fetch Layne. As she approched, she heard Layne banging on her door. "HANNAH WAKE UP AND OPEN THE DOOR I NEED TO SHOW YOU SOMTHING!" Hannah giggled as she watched her friend struggle to open the door, banging and yelling, and decided to just stand back for a while."HANNAH WHY WONT YOU OPEN THIS STUPID DOOR!" Hannah almost fell over in giggles as she watched Layne grasp the door handle with both hands and tried to push the door with her foot."I cant open the door while your in my way, can I Layne!" Hannah burst into a tearful laughter. Layne stared at Hannah, and let go of the door handle, falling to the ground with a yelp, which only made Hannah laugh got to her feet and stomped over to Hannah, and gave her a wack on the head. "Stop Laughing at me! Whats so funny!" Hannah rubbed her head. Hannah sat up startled "You didnt even know I hadnt come back yet! You were gonna pull my door down!" She stiffled a laugh again and put her hand up. "Now, help me up again, you silly Ditz!"

Layne set the little orange egg back down in her desk drawer. "It was propped against my camera when I opened the drawer, but it was really cold... I hope it'll hatch..." Layne said to Hannah. "Well, come on, we'd better head to the dining hall."

20 minutes later, Layne and Hannah arrived at the dining hall. "Hey, look." Hannah whispered to Layne and motioned through the big open wood doors leading outside. There were kids that looked a little younger than Hannah and Layne dragging bags up the hill to the castle. "Must be the new students." Hannah said. The new students looked like they'd just woken up from a nap and their bags were heavy, but they were looking in awe at everything around them as well. Layne giggled again as one tripped over his own suitcase and had to chase his stuff down the hill when it rolled away. "I wonder if we looked like that when we first arrived?" Layne giggled.

Layne and Hannah walked back towards their rooms laughing. "Did you see that kid trip over his own suitcase?" Layne said. "No, but I saw a pygmy chase one around for trying to steal an egg from the nest!" Hannah responded. "And then they got soooo lost trying to find their rooms!" Layne said, laughing. "Well come on Layne, we have tests to study for tomorrow." Hannah said. Layne groaned. "Alright, I'll grab my books, but can we study outside? We have a few hours of sunlight left." Layne said. "Alright, meet you in the hall in 5 minutes, ok?"

Layne leaned back against the big oak tree and read a line from her textbook out loud. "No way, we're essentially immortal once we have dragons?" Layne asked. "That's awesome!" Hannah smiled, and they both went back to reading. About an hour later, Layne closed the book and pushed it a few feet away on the grass. "Well I'm done, with THAT class anyway...We have swordfighting class at 9am tomorrow, the Archery Range at 10am. The stables at 11am. Lunch at noon... Scales and Dragon Products at 1pm, Dimensions, Illnesses, Nature, and Monsters at 2pm, and General Dragon Knowledge at 4pm. Then dinner at 5 and we're free the rest of the day..." Layne yawned. "I'm glad tomorrow is friday though... We can explore Astraea saturday, and I want to visit the swordfighting arena and the archery range too. Wanna come?" Layne asked as she pulled another book out of her shook her head. "Nah, I'm gonna go and try ride a Drageer again. I'm sure Im getting closer to not getting thrown off, and im detirmined to be able to ride properly before we graduate" She sighed "Drageers are so much harder to ride then horses".


	9. The Swordmaster

"Stop!" Hannah stopped and dropped her blades, panting.

"What happened?"

Hannah hung her head. "I'll get it next time."

The tall slender swordsmaster circled her.

"Look at that dummy. Do you see how badly you struck? All you would do if this dummy were real is give shallow and painful wounds in non vital areas, missing vital areas or shields completely. This is no good. Leave."

Hannah stood, shocked. "But..." The Swordsmaster turned to leave "How could you ever defend your dragons from a lagmonster attack if you can't even wield your blades to start with?"

Layne steped back from her cut-up straw dummy as the Swordmaster chewed Hannah out. Walking over quietly, she stopped next to Hannah and glanced up at their instuctor, who was walking away to another student. "It's ok... Just.. Um.. Do your wrist like this." She showed Hannah the correct way to strike. "If you do it the other way, they'll disarm you easily and possibly break your wrist.

You have to be light on your feet and quick to dodge their strikes and get under their guard, but don't reach too far or you won't be able to get back in time to parry their strike." Layne struck Hannah's straw dummy and thrust her sword up into a chink in the armor it was wearing, pulling it back out, the hole had straw pieces hanging out of it.

"Go for the vital areas, but don't leave your guard down, they might just take advantage of it." She feinted to the left and struck again on the right, this time bashing the dummy's helmet. "With one sword like I have, you have more power. But with two swords you have a greater range of attacks and more versatility. Strike hard, strike fast, and if you do your wrist like I showed you you'll be powerful even with double swords." Hannah stared at her friend.

"Jeez Layne. How do you already know so much?" Layne blushed. "I, uh, read books a lot. I have a whole stack of books in my room about swordfighting and archery.. and, uh I practice a lot. You can learn a lot that way, but it does take some time..." Layne's ears were red in ambarrassment. "So.. Yeah, uh, just do what I said and you'll get better." She walked back to her own dummy, looking at her watch as she went. 9:30, which meant they had 30 more minutes of sword practice before the archery range.

Layne sat on a rock and watched as their teacher demonstrated how to fletch an arrow. After finishing one, he told them all to go to their targets and start practicing. Layne slung her bow off of her back and pulled an arrow out of the old leather quiver that was identical to the one each student got their first archery lesson. She nocked the arrow and let it fly at the target. It hit in the second circle from the bullseye.

"Good Layne, but pull it back farther and it'll go faster!" The teacher, Mr. Prater, called. Layne nodded and did as he said. "Good! Just work on the accuracy and you'll be a good archer!" He called from across the range, and then turned his attention to helping another student.

Layne jogged up to the stables just as her clock said 10:59 am. Quickly, she stuffed her backpack, bow & arrow, and sword into her locker at the stables. Each student had one, in order to keep stuff out of the way. _Beep!_ Layne looked at her watch. 11 o'clock on the dot as she walked over to the stalls. The students were all there, so the teacher told them all to be quiet. "Now, today we'll be doing a lot of stablework. Layne, please go get the saddle soap out of the tack room please." Mr. Yasi said.

Layne did as he said. "Now, everyone grab a full set of tack and come outside to those buckets, I'm going to show you how to _properly_ care for Drageer tack." Twenty minutes later they came back inside with clean, polished tack. "Okay students we have 10 minutes to get them fed, the stalls cleaned, and they're water buckets filled up. The last 30 minutes we'll be riding if you get a move on! Layne start putting feed in their pans, even if we're riding before they eat, Hannah fill up their water buckets, Roxanne start bringing tack out, and all you others start cleaning out manure, and don't forget to put new straw down!"

Mr. Yasi said. Layne nodded and started going down the line with a scooper and a feed bag. The Drageers got a lot of food, being large - a mix of oats, sweet feed, a vitamin mash, alfalfa cubes, and several types of pellets. All that mixed into one and with some hay was what Layne had to give them. Fortunately, all the food was together in one bag, mixed already.

After all the stalls were cleaned and had food and water, the students started tacking up their Drageers. Layne was to ride one named Dasher. The Drageer watched her curiously as she tacked it up. Layne laughed. "Looking for treats, eh?" Layne looked up. Mr. Yasi was lecturing someone on how NOT to tack up a Drageer. Layne gave the Drageer a sugar cube. They were allowed to have treats, but not tooooo many.

Layne stretched as she sat down at her desk in her 'Scales, Dimensions, Monsters, and Creatures' class. "Good morning class." Mr. Ying said. "Today we're going to study the creatures of the first dimension you'll be going to." He said as he set a cage on his desk. Inside was a brown rat-like thing. But it had wings. "Now, can anyone tell me what this is?" A small boy at the back of the class raised his hand and Layne both raised their hands . "A mutated rat?" The boy asked. Mr. Ying shook his head. "You could say that, but the name?"

Layne raised her hand again and reached up high. "Yes, Layne?" Mr. Ying asked. "A Flitterat, sir?" Layne said. "Correct! Flitterats are much like rats. However, they have feathers and wings and can fly. They're very common in the first dimension you'll be in. Now, speaking of books, I have some textbooks to give each of you. Do not lose them, they are yours to keep and take to the Dragon Caves with you, but you're expected to have them each class of mine." He passed around a textbook to every student. "Open to page 20 if you would."

Layne flopped down on the bench for dinner. It was almost 5:00, dinner time, and she was starving. She leaned over to Hannah. "Hey, look at the principal! It looks like he has an announcement."Hannah looked up at Layne from where she had let her head fall after the long day.

"What is it, I wanna go to bed..." She suddenly sat upright when Layne flicked her on the nose."Students! Students!" Hannah and Layne both looked towards the front of the room, where the principal was impatiently banging a glass to gain the attention of both new and older students. "Your attention, please!" Finally, a shadow that had been skulking under the teachers' table grew too impatient and ran out in a flurry of wings and high pitched squeaking, the dark creature jumped onto the podium infront of the principal, it started screaming at the top of its voice, causing many to shield their ears.

"Darkie! Get down!" One of the other teachers ran up and grasped the creature, struggling to drag it back to her eat. The Principal straightened up and looked over the shocked students. "Thank you miss Hilderman... but I would prefer if your Wyvern were kept under control..." He sighed as he turned back to explain to the students. "Miss Hilderman has a rare black Bright-Breasted Wyvern, almost fully grown despite its small size. But now that I have your attention, I might as well get on with this."

Were it not for Layne's constant pinching and poking, Hannah might have fallen asleep. The principal went on to give the same boring speech to the new students they had been given, only told the new second termers (Layne and Hannah's group) to stay behind after an extravagant dinner and dessert, all the new students and older students left for bed, while the 20 students that had been told to stay behind were left. Layne looked around for an explaination, but there seemed to be none yet.

"I wonder why we have to stay here Han... HANNAH!" Layne looked down to find Hannah fast asleep on the bench. Layne thumped Hannah on the back with one hand. "WHAT'S HAPPENING, WHERE'S THE FIRE?" Hannah jumped up and lost her balance, quickly tripping over the seat and falling over backwards, looking up at Layne in stunned silence. Layne giggled looking down at her friend.

"Ok students, sorry I'm late" The principal walked back in just as Layne helped Hannah back onto the seat. "The reason I asked for you to stay behind is because I have a special annoyncment thats only relevant to your group, because the older students have already heard it, and the new studends wont need to until 6 months from now."

"For the first three months that you live here, everything is free, but thats about to change. We are going to take away every luxury that you didnt bring here yourself. You cant even get desserts or use the Public Library. Unless you earn it."

The room was suddenly filled with murmurs as everyone started talking at once. "How do you think we are going to earn those rights Layne... Layne?"

"Students! Please quiet down. The way you will earn these luxuries is by working for them. You can get a job in town and work for special credit coins, which you can use to get your desserts, Libary books, or even buy food, clothes and other items from town."

The entire group stood in shock. "Once you are out living in a cave full of dragons, you only get these things by working hard, so we want to give you a taste of hard work and lack of luxuries now, while your life doesnt hang in the balance. You can go to your rooms now. Goodnight!"

With that, the Principal turned and left. "I don't care about working.. Working's kinda fun... But.. No more books? How are we supposed to study as hard as we need too?" Layne gaped like a fish at Hannah until her friend started giggling, and glared for a minute before sighing. "I guess I'll go see if I can get a job at Sugar and Scales.. See you later tonight?" Hannah nodded and Layne jogged outside and into Astraea.

The bakery closed at 7, but Layne wanted to get back to the castle. She slowed to a walk as she spotted the familiar shop. A bell chimed as she opened the door. "Hello, may I help you?" The woman behind the counter said, looking up from the dough she was cutting to make biscuits. "Hi I'm Layne-" Layne started to say, but the woman cut her off. "Oh, I remember you, you came in here on your first day in Astraea. How's life at the academy?" The woman asked, smiling. "It's good. But.. We're supposed to get jobs and get paid in credit coins we can use only, but anywhere in, Astraea... I was wondering if I could work here?" Layne asked.

The woman nodded. "Alright, and yes I know, we do this for each round of students. Yes, you can have a job. My name is Jenny, by the way." She smiled again. "So when do I start?" Layne asked. "Well, I know your busy, so why don't you start with 7-8am and 6-7 pm? Then you'll still have an hour free in the evenings." Jenny said. "And according to what they gave me, you'll get 20 coins a day as long as you work hard. Oh, and it's optional but if you work 9am to noon on saturday, you can get 40 coins for that."

* * *

><p>Layne knocked on Hannah's door. "Hannah!" She called. A sleepy Hannah opened the door. "What do you want Layne?" She asked. "You're supposed to study with me tonight. And here, I have a cinnamon roll from Jenny for you." Hannah took the pastry from Layne's hand and scooped a pile of books up from her desk. "Jenny?" She asked. "I got a job at Sugar and Scales. Jenny's my boss." Layne answered, and steered her friend across the hall.<p> 


	10. Triple Trouble

Hannah was dreaming of what her life was going to be like once she was finished her training. She dreamt of vast open spaces filled with all her dragon friends, of dancing and playing with her future hatchlings, of falling asleep next with a smaller dragon guarding her, its tender, mother and friend. She dreamt of waking to pecks from little Pygmies... wait, that felt too real to be a dream...

Hannah opened her eyes to see a Pygmy gently pecking at her forehead, three feet on her chest and one on her cheek, its tail curled around her neck. She felt tempted to scream, but held it in, slowly using her fingers to uncurl the little dragons tail and then firmly picked it up and placed it on the floor beside her.

"Please dont do that again, you gave me a right scare!" The little Pygmy chirped and took to the air, flying out the window. "Hang on, I thought I'd closed that..." Hannah got up and checked the bolt on the window. It had been melted in half. "I can't believe that little thing broke my window!" She closed the window again, using a shoelace to tie it closed, for now, and opened her heavy oak door. Hannah quickly walked across to Layne's door, and gave it a loud knock.

* * *

><p><em>Knock knock knock.<em> Layne stood up from her desk to get the door. Hannah was waiting outside in the hall. "The Pygmy is at it again, come look." Layne shut her own door and followed her friend across the hall. "It melted the lock on my window!" Hannah exclaimed as they walked. Layne giggled. "I think the pygmies like you."

She bent down and looked at the bolt. "It's melted alright... Your just gonna have to buy a new one, I don't think this one can be fixed... Sorry." She frowned, rubbing her finger against the metal. "Well, we have about an hour till breakfast, wanna go down to the stables?" She asked. "And maybe we can find a new bolt for your window on the way!" She laughed. "Alright, meet you in the hall in 15 minutes." Hannah said, and Layne headed back across the hall, still laughing about the pygmy incident.

* * *

><p>Layne plopped down on the bench beside Hannah for breakfast. They were late due to the Drageers thinking it would be funny to splash around in the mud. Even if they eventually calmed down, they still got Layne and Hannah covered in mud. Layne peered across the dining hall to the tables the new students were eating at. There were 20, same as in Layne and Hannah's class.<p>

"I hope we have some time to watch them in their first Drageer lesson." Layne laughed. "So have you had any luck finding a job so far?" She asked Hannah. Her friend shook her head. "Not yet, but I'm probably gonna look around town sometime today." She said. Layne started to say something as she set her elbow down. With a splash, her spoon catapulted out of her cereal bowl and hit Hannah square in the face. Layne blinked. "Ooops…" She said, as milk and a cereal flake dripped off Hannah's face. "LAYNE!" Hannah exclaimed, scowling as she wiped her face.

* * *

><p>After breakfast (and washing after the mess Layne had made), Hannah started to wander semi-aimlessly towards the shopping district of the town. She had never noticed how many of the older students were working in the stores till now. She tried to imagine what she could do to earn money as she walked past the shops at the edge of the district, and she pondered. She couldn't cook (it always ended in disaster, one way or another, though she'd need to learn before she lived on her own...), she wasn't a good salesman, and she disliked the enclosed spaces that might be offered in some of the stores.<p>

Then she spotted somthing. A middle aged woman was leading around a tour group, three or four times larger than one Hannah had ever seen, around the city. She appreared to be having a hard time with it. "I know what I can do..." Hannah smirked and walked towards the tour group.

* * *

><p>Layne sat down on the bench beside Hannah for dinner. Helping herself to a spoonful of pasta, she turned to Hannah. "So what'd you do today? Any luck finding a job?" Hannah nodded. "I'm a tour guide." She smiled. "There was a lady with a gigantic tour group, I went and asked her and ended up helping her with the group." She smiled.<p> 


	11. King of the Castle

Hannah smiled as she led around yet another group of tourists. She had been working in this job for the last 5 months, so she had it down pat. She was almost finished with this group."And now we are in the Inn district. Im sure most have you have already been around here, but for those of you who haven't had the chance to look around..."

"FARPAR! FARPAR!" Hannah stoped mid-sentence. Farpar was the frozen Nebula hatchling that lived at the Astral Inn, and had started to get a reputation for scaring the daylights out of tourists."Ladies and Genetlemen, I'm sure you will get a chance to look around here some more. This concludes our tour. Feel free to return to the Inns you are staying at in your own time..." Starting slowly, she headed towards the sound of Delilah, the Inn keeper.

She began quickening her pace as soon as she was out of the tourists line of almost ran into the poor flustered Innkeeper. "Have you seen Farpar?"

"No, I haven't, I had a tour group. How long has he been gone?"Although Farpar was frozen before its gender could be told, everyone still called it a he. "I havent seen him in hours. One of the tourists left the door open!" Hannah thought for a seccond."I'll go grab Layne and a few other students and we'll help you look."

Loosening the tie of her uniform as she ran into the dorms, Hannah came to a sliding stop before Layne's room, and began to bang."Layne! We need your help!" Layne opened the door with a frown. "What is it? Im halfway through my homework, if i donit finish it today it'll be late!"

"You know the Nebula from the Astral Inn? Farpar? He's missing and..."Layne tapped Hannah's shoulder "THAT Nebula...?"Hannah slowly turned and looked out of the corner of her eye. Just as Layne has said, there was Farpar, ready to run off with sombody's shoe in his mouth.

* * *

><p>Layne stared for a second at the little nebula hatchling, and he stared back up at the girls. "Farpar what are you do-" She reached out to pick him up, and cut off mid-sentence as he darted down the hall. "Farpar!" Layne and Hannah took off down the hall after him. The little nebula was fast, weaving around throughout the castle. Layne saw a large open oak door up ahead. "Farpar, no!"<p>

That was the cafeteria, and past that was the kitchen. The hatchling glanced back at Layne, ran through the door, and leaped onto a long wooden table. Claws losing their grip, Farpar skidded along the table and fell off the end with an _OOOOOF_. Before the girls caught up with him, Farpar was already back up on his feet and dashing for a pair of swinging double doors. Layne shook her head.

"We're in so much trouble if he goes in the kitchen," She muttered. And of course he dissappeared through the doors. Layne skidded to a stop in front of the double doors. Hannah caught up to her, panting, just as they heard a screech from inside. "Oh boy..." Layne pushed the doors open and was confronted by a scene that would have been funny in a different situation.

Farpar was standing knee-deep in dishwater in the sink, cheese was splattered all over the place(including the lunchladies' faces), and the floor was littered with half-cooked eggs, and cracked eggs that had fallen off counters. The hatchling jumped onto an angry-looking lunchlady's head and balanced as she shook her head around. He leaped again, and this time landed on a cookie tray.

Cookies went flying everywhere, and the tray slid along the counter, and Farpar flew off as it hit the wall. "GET OUT!" The lunchlady chased after him, waving her stared up at the woman with wide eyes before scrambling out the door, Layne and Hannah again chasing him. "Farpar this isn't funny!" Layne yelled as he bounded partway up the spiral stairs in the corner of the dorm area.

Layne had classes up on this level of the castle. They knew he thought it was a game, but it wasn't all that funny right at that moment. The girls quickly followed Farpar upstairs and Layne ran straight into Roxanne, falling a few steps back down the stairs. "Owww... Sorry.." Layne tried to apologize, but stopped as she noticed Roxanne staring at her. "What happened to you two?" Roxanne asked, stifling a giggle. Layne looked down at herself, then at Hannah.

They were splatted with cheese and dishwater, had raw egg on their shoes, and Layne had a cookie fragment in her hair. Layne giggled looking at herself. "Remember Farpar - from the Astral Inn?" Roxanne nodded. "He's loose in the castle, he kind of found the kitchen.. Will you help us?" Roxanne nodded and slung her bag over her shoulder. "Well he went this way, hurry!"

The three girls ran down the hall, looking for signs of the hatchling. Finally they caught up to Farpar as he was charging up another spiral staircase. There were several staircases there, but Layne knew the one he was on led to the highest tower in the castle. "If we get him to go all the way up, we can trap him in the tower and catch him!"

They went up the staircase, which seemed to go on for forever, and when they finally emerged at the top they found Farpar sitting directly in front of them. "Let's grab him before he finds a way out!" Hannah said. "Wait.." Layne said. She stared at the small blue and pink dragon floating on a whispy pink cloud in front of the hatchling.

They seemed to be talking to each other, Farpar sitting quietly with his cheese-splattered scales, and the Daydream floating there. He seemed to be watching the girls out of one of his seen so few fully grown dragons in their lifetime, Hannah and Layne froze.

Layne leaned over to Hannah and whispered in her ear "What should we do?" The elegant dragon looked down itslong muzzle at them, and its eyes glazed over. Suddenly, a voice filled their heads.

_When the earth breaks and shatters, _

_The two shall rise and gain their destined power. _

_Without the two, worlds shall war and anchient evils shall be unlocked. _

_Look for these signs- _

_The Great army of little ones shall rise; _

_The dragons shall be freed of their prison; _

_The great mages will regain their full powers; _

_The metals will Meld together; _

_His name will be learned; _

_His cult will find the is the king of the Castle, _

_He will have it back, at any cost. _

_The champions will stop him. _

_T__hey MUST stop him._

As soon as the voice left their minds, Hannah and Layne blacked out.


	12. Like A Waking Dream

Hannah's eyes slowly blinked open. She had a bad headache, and the light was hurting her eyes. She attempted to roll over, to go back to sleep, but found a heavy weight on her chest. She opened her eyes more, and looked down. On the crisp white bed sheets lay a small sparkly black lump, about the size of a large as this large ump was pinning her down, Hannah decided to look around. At that point she realized that she was definitely not in her room. The large, polished steel furniture, crisp white sheets and curtains, smooth marble walls, and rather distinct smells told her she was in the hospital to her right, she saw the sleeping form of Layne two beds down. Why were they in the hospital wing? What happened? What was this big lump of sparkly black on her chest?Seeing as she could not get the answers to the first two questions, she decided to prod the black lump to find the answer to the working an arm free from her side ad out of under the rugs, she poked the black lump. It was soft and warm, and felt like... juvenile dragon scales? She felt over the lump, and found what felt like a wing. Black scales with a bright sparkly pattern and small wings? That sounded like...The black lump moved, and a stocky head at the end of a muscular neck twisted round to face her, blinking its deep blue eyes a few times, before crooning and nuzzling Hannah's confused face."Farpar... what are YOU doing here..."

Layne gaped at the letter in front of her. "That absolute **! I can't believe her!" She exclaimed, dropping the letter onto the table in disgust. Hannah jumped, staring at her. "Oh, err.. Did I say that out loud?" Hannah nodded as several nearby students gave her strange looks and went back to their breakfasts. "What is it?" Hannah asked, reaching for the letter. "Remember Siera? From back home in Briggany?" Hannah nodded, eyebrows scrunching together as she began to read. When she finishes, she too dropped the letter in disgust. "I can't believe her.." Hannah echoed. "'It'd be so nice to visit you and Hannah, I'm coming up for your graduation.' PAH. She just wants to see the dragons and flirt with tenders." Layne snorted. Hannah shook her head. "Well, she's coming either way, I suppose we'll have to deal with her.." Layne groaned. She was looking forward to graduation - or she had been. But maybe this wouldn't be so bad… "Maybe I can use this to exact my revenge before we go to the first dimension, hmm?" She asked. Hannah arched an eyebrow. "Oh? Well, don't get too crazy, Layne…I know she's horrible, but we don't want to get in trouble…"Layne nodded absently. Siera had been her nemesis since they were five years old and starting school together. Siera came from a much wealthier family in the classy, mansion-filled part of Briggany. At first she took an interest in Layne, and they spent time together at school. But it became clear that Siera, the vain rich girl, disapproved of Hannah, who had been Layne's friend all her life (their families were friends). When Layne decided to be friends with Hannah rather than Sierra, they had become the other girl's least favorite was rather good at getting people to do what she wanted, mostly bought friends, and she took every possible advantage to make Layne and Hannah look stupid - from pushing them into the mud or tricking them into turning in extra homework that was never really called for. Siera did most the same activities they did, but only because she wanted to have a perfect image of perfected perfection (as the friends said). She was snooty and vain, and she drove Layne insane. Hannah disliked her, but not quite as much as Layne did."Are you all packed for the trip back home, Hannah?" Layne asked, pulling out of her thoughts to eat the last of her breakfast. "Yes. We're leaving bright and early tomorrow morning." Hannah responded around a mouthful of toast. Layne folded up a copy of the Hellfire Herald, the inter-dimensional dragon newspaper, and stuffed it in the purse slung over her shoulder. It would be nice to see her family and friends back home again.

Hannah sighed as she watched the world roll by her window. How long had it been since she had done this again? Right, 11 months. 11 months since she had come to the academy to learn to become a tender with Layne, and only one month more to trip home may well be their last time to see Briggany, and all the friends who wouldn't be able to make it to their graduation. So they would have to make the most of it. She started to go over the list of things she wanted to do, see and take photos of, before looking over to the lump on her shoulder.A very asleep Layne had laid her head on Hannah's shoulder, and was starting to drool. Hannah frowned, and tried to figure out how to get her sleeping friend to remove herself from her person. She poked Layne in the head, to be met with a mumble. "Dun't wanna, shaving cream, Siera's boots..."As amusing as this sounded, Hannah was less than impressed with the growing puddle on her shoulder. She grabbed her friend's ear and yanked."Remove yourself from my person please."She inwardly giggled at Layne's sleepy, confused and slightly shocked face, while outwardly keeping her unimpressed, slightly bored mask she had been working on.

Layne, still rather grouchy about having her ear pulled as means of waking her up, had traded spots with Hannah and laid her head on the window. It was about 3 in the morning now, and Hannah's head was now on HER shoulder. She giggled as Hannah shifted, snoring loudly. "Payback time..." She poked her head above the seat to make sure the coast was clear, then stood on the seat to get her bag down, laying Hannah's head down on the seat carefully. The bus hit a big bump just as she managed to quietly slide one of her bags down, and she fell flat on her butt with a _THUMP!_"Dang bumpy road..." She muttered, peering around the seat. The driver was still unaware of her moving around. Hannah shifted and fell back asleep, and Layne quickly pulled what she had been looking for out of her bag - a can of nacho cheese dip, sitting right beside the partially-eaten bag of chips from the last gas station stop. She smirked, quickly tipping the last little bit of cheese dip out into Hannah's hand, giggling as she did so. Hannah shifted, and she quickly fell silent, reaching out with one hand. She flicked her fingernail lightly against Hannah's twitched. Layne tickled her nose again, and this time a hand flew up toward Hannah's nose irritably. Cheese dip plastered across Hannah's face, and she sputtered as she woke up. Layne busted out into all-out laughter, muffling it with her arm to stop the bus driver from coming back to was gaping at her, and drew a finger across her face, staring at the yellow on it. She sniffed. "Cheese.. dip?" Hannah asked, staring. Layne managed to respond in between laughing. "Nacho.. cheese.. flavored.. payback!" She giggled again, Hannah's expression was a mixture of drowsiness, annoyance, confusion, and laughter, and the cheese smeared across her face only mad her laugh stared at her in disbelief, but she cracked a smile. "JUST because I pulled your ear? Did it have to be CHEESE?" She demanded. Layne smiled. "Well, it's not like we had shaving cream with us," She snorted. "And I just couldn't pass up a perfect prank opportunity." Hannah shook her head. "Your more trouble than your worth, Layne." She teased. "Hey, I see the welcome sign ahead - 'Welcome to Briggany, enjoy your stay!' Go back to the bathroom and wash your face off, I'll clean the seat up and get our bags off the rack, ok?" Layne said. Hannah nodded and headed for the back of the bus just as the bus driver pulled his radio down and started to speak. "Alright, I know you're tired, but come on listen up! Roxanne, Layne, and Hannah, your getting off in Briggany. Roxanne, your the third off, I'll drop you off at the airport. Layne and Hannah, your getting off at Layne's house, and we've made arrangements for you to stay the night at Layne's, seeing as it'll be 3:30 in the morning when we get there. You three get your stuff ready and clean up after yourselves. If I have to clean up after you, I will personally see that you get punished before you graduate!" He glared them down in the rearview mirror before returning the radio to it's hook. Hannah returned bright-eyed and clean-faced. "Your crashing at my house, Han." Layne said, brushing the crushed-up chip crumbs off the seat. "I have a bet for you." Layne challenged. Hannah groaned. This couldn't be a good thing. Layne smiled. "I bet you can't stay up the rest of the night with me without going to sleep." She challenged. Hannah made a face. "Probably not, but your on, Miss Nocturnal! What are we going to do then?" She asked. Layne gaped at her. "Oh, only drive my sister insane and have fun!" She exclaimed. Hanna shook her head. "Alright, but your parents better be stocked up on caffeine and high-sugar and high-energy foods.." She said disbelievingly. Layne grinned. "Don't worry, I won't let you fall asleep!"Hannah made a face. "That's exactly what I'm WORRIED about!" She said under her breath, Layne jerking their bags down just as the bus screeched to a halt outside their house. The porch light was on, but other than that, there was no obvious sign that they were expecting someone bus radio beeped on again, and several irritated teenagers muttered in their sleep and rolled over. "Alright, Layne, Hannah, time to go! Off off off I've got a schedule to keep! Don't forgot the stuff in the cargo hold, I ain't driving back to give it to you!" The bus driver shooed them off after they said good-bye to Roxanne and a few quickly got their things and walked towards the house, opening the unlocked door as the bus zoomed away. Layne poked her head in first. "Mom? Angel? Hello?" They closed the door, leaving their stuff beside it, and locked the deadbolt, turning out the light before entering the kitchen. There they found Layne's mother, head in her hands, elbows resting on the island, sound asleep and even snoring slightly. All there was a small lamp on, and there was a book on the counter in front of Mrs. Herring. Layne smiled. "Look at her pajamas!" She giggled. They were green cotton pajama pants with little green dragons on them - Pebbles, Vines, and the like. Then she had an old gray t-shirt on, and fuzzy pebble dragon slippers. "She's taking the whole mother-of-a-tender thing seriously, huh?" They giggled at Layne's comment."I can hear you." The new voice made them jump. A kaleidoscope-like blue, green and brown eye opened, and a smile flickered onto Mrs. Herring's face. "I didn't realize you'd be in this late. Hannah's staying the night here, Layne." Her mother yawned, standing and picking up her book - _The Life of a Dragon Tender - Dragons, Dimensions, and Monsters and other Threats Tenders Face_ Layne shook her head. "Why are you reading that, mom? You know we'll tell you all about our dragons and dimensions! We CAN send letters and visit sometimes, you know." She mother winked. "Oh I know and I expect plenty of those letters, miss." She attempted a stern expression. "I was just curious, and you left it in your room." Layne stared at her. "You were going through there? Why? And where was it, I couldn't find it when I got there?""On the floor under your bed, and I was just tidying up a bit." Layne groaned, taking her book. "Mom!" _I love her, but I can never find anything after she 'cleans'._ "Well, goodnight girls. I'd love to stay up and talk, but I'm exhausted. There's food in the refrigerator, and get Angel while it heats up, would you? She was waiting for you to get home to eat and talk to you about The Academy. I think she wants to apply too." Her mother laughed, rolling her eyes. "I suppose she's taking after you, huh, Layne? Goodnight, girls." She disappeared down the hall. "C'mon Hannah, let's take our stuff up to my room and then we can find Angel and eat dinner, alright?" Layne asked. Hannah nodded, yawning, and they went to retrieve their bags.


End file.
